Russian Deepfake of Ukrainian Commander Strains Relations With Poland

Ukraine's government Center for Countering Disinformation (CPD) has revealed an AI-generated video in which a fake likeness of a drone unit commander claims Ukraine does not need Poland's support. The footage circulated on TikTok just days before July 11, Poland's National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide Committed by Ukrainian Nationalists against Polish Citizens.

A fake commander online

In the video, a man bearing a striking resemblance to Yevhen Karas, the real commander of a Ukrainian drone unit, says things he never actually said, suggesting Ukraine should do without Polish support. The clip was spread through a TikTok account impersonating the official profile of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, lending it a veneer of credibility.

In reality, this is an AI-generated video - statement from the Center for Countering Disinformation on Facebook

Verification and motive

Citing analysis from specialized media-verification services, CPD called the video a textbook example of a deepfake. According to the center, the fake's purpose is to stoke hostility between Poles and Ukrainians and to undermine the legitimacy of Poland's support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

The material surfaced online just before July 11, the day Poland marks the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide Committed by Ukrainian Nationalists against Citizens of the Second Polish Republic, widely known as the anniversary of the Volhynia massacre. It's a particularly sensitive date in Polish-Ukrainian relations, and according to the Ukrainian center, the timing of the video's release was no coincidence.

A pattern of Russian operations

CPD stresses that the deepfake fits into a broader pattern of Russian disinformation efforts, running for months, that use generative AI to undermine alliances supporting Ukraine. Similar fake videos featuring Ukrainian officials and military personnel have appeared before, reaching audiences through accounts posing as local media or official military channels.

The ease of producing convincing fake videos with widely available AI tools means such operations are becoming cheaper and harder to debunk before they spread across social media. TikTok, the platform from which the video circulated, has not yet publicly commented on removing the fake account.

What it means for Poland

For Polish audiences, the case shows that generative AI tools have become a fixture of Russian influence operations aimed directly at relations between Warsaw and Kyiv, especially around sensitive anniversary dates. Disinformation experts have long warned that Polish and Ukrainian institutions need to respond to such material within hours, not days, since it's the first hours after publication that determine how far a fake video spreads.

The case also reached Polish media, which publicized the Ukrainian center's warning, helping to limit the video's further spread. Ukrainian authorities said they would continue monitoring similar accounts and material in the coming days, especially during the anniversary period.

Sources: RMF24 (rmf24.pl), WP Wiadomości (wiadomosci.wp.pl), Interia (wydarzenia.interia.pl)